A Psalm for Us

by Reyna Biddy

From the author of I Love My Love comes this spiritual inquiry in four parts – the blues , epiphany , prayer , and rebirth.

A Psalm for Us is Reyna "Biddy" Mays's soulful collection of prose, self-affirmations, spoken word poems, and short stories exploring questions of faith and self. 

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Religion

224 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2018

Reviews

[Shai · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Psalm for Us is a collection of poems that will capture the attention or, much likely, is suitable for those who are currently in pain. The prose and poems in this anthology are more like of healing affirmations that will help them cope up with what they are going through. I'm not the target of this poetry book, but I believe that this could be a great help to comfort and motivate those who are in the blue.

[Bobbieshiann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spill your truth out on all of these pages!!!

You ever feel like someone was on the outside watching your whole life just to tell your story even though it is still being written? THIS IS THAT BOOK!

[Sasha Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one the most raw, honest, and vulnerable pieces of writing I've read in a while.

[Chanel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received this as an ARC on NetGalley.

I loved the author’s openness and raw, authentic voice. I also liked how the author experimented and mixed the styles through between poetry and prose. The structure of the pieces was creative.

The majority of the pieces themselves weren’t for me. There were some I really liked, a few times where plays on language made me smile at the author’s wit, and one specifically stood out as a great spoken word piece (which I love). For the most part, though, I’m not a huge fan of the freeform, stream of consciousness style. I prefer a bit more precision and purpose of language and literary elements in poetry.

Overall, though, it was a pleasurable and quick read.

[Vidhya Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is a combination of pros and poetries with different styles of writing. I really loved the book. It was as if someone is speaking what’s there In my mind. There are so many pages, lines that I find Inspiring in this book. There are poems, some pros where the author has explained her situations. There are chapters like happiness, sadness where the author explains the causes. There are poems of each type, every situation. Every word felt real and it was all relatable. It explained feelings that could not be explained, feelings that one could never put into words. Poetry itself conveys a lot more and the author successfully managed to convey her emotions well. This book is for someone who wants to seek answers, want to heal, want to come out from the worst situations. The pace of the story is good. It’s smooth and easy going. The tempo is also good as the book is divided into various sections, and each section had its own emotion, it’s own mystery, it’s own way of conveying emotions. The flow of the story is also smooth and continuous, there are long descriptions of the situations, explanations but again it all goes into a proper flow. It’s a collection of poetry with varying themes. HeartBreak, Love, Self-love, healing were few themes.

The cover of the book is something you will fall in love with. The title is also good. Overall, it’s a good read.

Anyone experienced hurt in any form could relate more to this collection of poetries. To me, it was a connecting, simple read with lots of emotions. I loved reading it.

Check reviews at www.vidhyathakkar.com

[jinn ッ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“A Psalm for Us” was a very vulnerable and unapologetically raw piece. It was beautifully spiritual, finding God in nature and believing, even when you wonder why you were dealt the cards life gave you.

As someone on his own spiritual journey, I enjoyed this read and related to many of the poems. There is much pain within this collection but just as much uplifting strength and self-love.

I recommend this one to those who are struggling with heartbreak, or simply want to learn to love themselves.. to BECOME love. I also believe this would be a very comforting book, especially to the woman readers whom need some hope and to know they are heard.

[Kayla Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

First half was a 5star for me but the other half just didn't hit me as much.
but this book was beautiful!

[Gayatri Saikia | per_fictionist · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a lot of expectation from this book. But apart from one section i.e "the rebirth" all the other three parts came off as desperate and rather demoralizing.

The poems didn't make any sense and the ones that did had the same message that I had read somewhere else with only a play of words.

With lengthy poems, the poet fails to deliver a strong message that I was looking forward to receive and most of the poems were about clinging to someone for the sake of love that didn't impress me.

[Chloe · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I read Biddy's first book "I love my love" I was OBSESSED to say the least. Everything that she wrote really resonated with me and I could really relate to what she was writing. This time around I had a little less. It was still beautiful and a true show of someone who has healed from her wounds and for that I truly commend her. There was just a little disconnect for me here.

[Makayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a great book like her other. This is a collection of poems about healing & relationships. I wanted to take pictures of almost every page because I related so much!

[Angie Teixeira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book when I say was probably one of my favorites, I also read another book by Reyna and definitely would prefer "I Love My Love" over this one , although this book really surprised me. Reyna Biddy is a goddess to me for the simple fact of she is herself and it shows in her writing. It's clear she doesn't write for anyone or for the money, but for herself.

Reyna also does spoken word of different poems throughout the book, not only does it make it ten times more satisfying to hear her voice, but also you hear the emotion behind her voice and just how she felt writing this. In my opinion, I feel as Reyna took the creative approach in her work which is appreciated. I have so much respect for all of the emotion she's poured into this book.

This book has what some would call chapters, there are four throughout the book. Each chapter is like a portion of a different perspective each pointing out what Reyna may have been thinking/feeling and also what it seems I'm feeling. I personally love a book that gives me hope or gives me some type of emotion that is sentimental.

Not being able to express your feelings really can suck, reading this book made me feel like the words were always there but I just never knew how to put when I always thought it was nothing. I am a young teenager who is still learning things about life and love, different types of love. This book really gave me a sense of learning to love myself and also learning to not hide my emotions.

Overall, I would most definitely recommend this book to someone who is needing either some emotional therapy. Personally reading about emotions that I relate to help me release them. I'd also recommend it to someone who simply loves to read about self-growth or self love. I definitely would advise to read it and then going back and listening to the spoken word album and rereading the specific poems.

[M Renee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved her first much better. Disappointed with this one.

[Bhavsi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt this wasn’t for me. I loved “I love my love,” but this collection was full of cliches and it dragged on. I really wanted to like it.

[Georgina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading "A Psalm for us" helped me a lot, in my life right now the past few weeks have not been the easiest for me. Just in the first few pages Reyna talks about how she wanted to write about sadness but instead she decided to write about "love. write about new life. Write about better days". Just reading those first few words made me want to keep reading the rest. I noticed that before every chapter or section in her book she would write about the things in that section first. In these big sections it was like big poems where she wrote about her inspiration and she rhymed with it. When you're reading Biddy's poems, the way she pours her heart out into her writing, it makes you feel as if she's talking to you exactly. For me, what has just happened in the past few weeks felt to me as if she was looking into my soul and telling me that I need to get better and that I'm going to be okay. "Forgive your past. Move forward", this exact quote from her book has stuck with me and I think about it often, because that is exactly what I needed. If you are looking for a book that will make you think and will have you enter someone's life deeply. A book that helps you understand what people go through. How they really feel and how in the end they come out of all the sadness and find self worth. This book is for you. I loved it and I'm sure you will too.

[Valisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5; definitely recommend this book for anyone who is going through a difficult time and needs that validation that they are not alone and it will get better even when they can’t see how.

[Abigail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once in a while I’d come across a poem in this book that I liked, but nothing really spoke to my soul.

[K.Y. Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Reyna's honesty. It is a breath of fresh air. She's unapologetic and walks to the beat of her own drum. This collection is also more experimental than her debut which I also loved. I can't to see what she releases next.

[YY · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 stars.

This just wasn't for me. I normally fly through poetry collections, but I often found my mind wandering while reading these poems.

Having said that, there were a few poems that I genuinely loved and could relate to. I keep thinking about the poem "What Other Women Might Say." Without typing it all up, it pinpoints exactly why it's so hard to be a woman.

I will say that I did appreciate the mix of styles between poetry and prose.

[Brittani Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very helpful for those going through a heart break, struggling with find themselves, or going through depression. It makes you realize that there are other people who are suffering just like you and it’s not abnormal that you feel the way you do.

[Karolyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why am I having such a bad streak with poetry books these days? Honestly, this book looked so promising, I mean look at the gorgeous cover! I should have known not to judge a book by its cover man because wow, while the outside was stunning, the inside was NOT so stunning...

Ok so let me just start off by saying, what the actual fuck (sorry for the language fam....)???? Like why is it that modern poetry these days are basically carbon copies of each other? It seems like no one has anything original to say these days and they seem to have an obsessive relationship with their "enter" button and like typing without Goddamn capital letters. Like people! Even though you're writing poetry, are you too much of a lazy dog to press "Shift"?! OOooooooo but NOooooOoooOO! You love pressing YOUR GOSH DARN ENTER BUTTON! *End of my rage rant festival*

Ok so now that I've addressed the painful thorn in my side, let's talk about this book itself. Man did it have potential and then terribly fail... Like it started off ok, nothing original or out of the ordinary. Just simple "be the awesome person you are" motivational shit. But then we took a wrong turn down the shit hole and then ended up in "I-have-no-backbone-and-solely-rely-on-this-man-who-I-love-so-much-oh-wait-he-just-dumped-my-sorry-ass-oh-no-I-don't-know-how-to-go-on-with-my-life-anymore" city. But then OF COURSE this turned into the "I'm a strong and independent woman who don't need no man because I'm awesome that way" bullshit. Like, don't get me wrong here. I'm all about finding love and I totally understand that going through a heartbreak after a break up may be hard, but PLEASE for the love of all things birds, I don't need to hear about your 700 heartbreaks. I don't know man, I think it's just that I' getting tired of this shit. I think the last 4 poetry books I've picked up have all been about the same heartbreak then realize I'm an awesome woman kind of shit. Like I get it. I don't need to hear about everyone's heartbreaks and how they all had the SAME realization after that they're too good for men.

The weird part of this book that really made me uncomfortable is when she started to refer to God as a woman???? I don't know man. Like whenever one talks about God, we refer to Him as "father", not "mother". I don't know. I mean this is MY personal belief but hearing someone else referring to God as a woman really did not sit well with me.

On the positive side, the end of this book wasn't too too bad. It was more durable the rest of those 100+ pages. But honestly, I think I need a break from the world of modern poetry because all I've been buying is shit that's been cloned multiple times and my bank account and pleading to me to stop buying useless books at full price that I end up hating/ being unable to justify buying it at full price....

[Magdalena Kolodziej · Rating 3 out of 5]

I came to this collection seeking something new, I’d like to call it an experiment even. It has been a long time since I had read anything contemporary with religious themes that was also written by a female. The need to experiment with the genres I read and the cover of this collection have caught my interest.

This is a poetry collection on the search of oneself in a cruel world, it is about hanging on by a thread. It is filled with unanswered questions in regards to love, religion, and self. I would say that this collection proves how much self-care is a necessity in one’s routine, and it explores that depending on someone for happiness may be doing more harm than good.

What I enjoyed the most in A Psalm For Us were the list poems, every word in them felt real and relatable in every sort of way. It explained feelings that could not be explained, feelings that I could never put into words myself.

“a couple months back i diagnosed myself as empty. i have a kind of sadness that cannot be named or explained to the happy folk. i have the kind of bruise that never lightens and consecutive bad days that only heighten. every day i’m in need of something stronger. something stronger than weed. something stronger than me. something or someone godly enough to save me.”

To summarise, I enjoyed this experiment and it definitely encouraged me to try to read genres I may not necessarily enjoy. I feel like this collection would be fitting for those searching for answers or seeking a writer they can relate to.

I have requested and received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Before reading this collection be aware that some of the content may be seen as sensitive.

[Taylor B|books.withtay · Rating 3 out of 5]

“i know some days you could use the love. or whatever.”

3.5 Again, I love Biddy’s raw, emotional feelings in this book and in her past book. The book is a good mix of styles between prose and poetry. She is writing this as a sweet release for herself and to help others. It’s beautifully written and I know people will connect with this. She has a beautiful soul and I’m glad she shared it with us.

“Kehlani’s Intro” was my favorite. It’s even better when you hear her speak it, such as on Sweet, Sexy, Savage, a cd by the singer Kehlani. I can tells she’s speaking from the heart and it resonates so much with me. I also enjoyed the poem “sweet, sexy”, which I believe was also inspired or written for the cd. Another thing I really liked was her description of how her faith presented itself to her and that it wouldn’t be the same for everyone else. For example, she found god in women and felt that the she was an eternal being.

I gave this book 3.5 stars because of the “Prayer” section. I didn’t enjoy it as much as the other sections. I felt it was overly repetitive with the “mother” poems. I read through it as quickly as possible. The “rebirth” section redeemed the book a little bit, but some poems in that section also seemed to be just sections of just one big poem.

[Jay · Rating 1 out of 5]

For a book that is supposed to be about an “us”, it talks an awful lot about “I” or, rather, “i” since capitalization and proper punctuation is a thing unknown to the poetess. Also, it’s the same old story of a person ‘saved’ by God.
Which, like the promises of religion and modern poetry, makes the words empty. Mere repetitions of other modern poets who make the same lousy and supposedly motivational promises that are meant to heal a person.
Where is the originality?
Where are the true messages of a mind constantly under the pressure of an economy and patriarchal society that fails not only women but people of colour in general?
Where is the incomprehension and true learning?
Nowhere, absolutely nowhere to be found in this ‘work’ (if it can be even called such a thing because the quality begs to differ).
In the time of computers, mental stigmas, media at all times of the day, creativity and understanding of one self is slowly killed by the fake promise of still being an individual even though they are really just a puppet echoing what sells.

[Roxanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reyna Biddy is not the most "eloquent" poet I've ever come across, but her honest, conversational tone and use of vivid imagery makes up for what technique may lack.

Biddy splits up her collection into sections based on the subject she wishes to address: some for heartbreak, some for family, some for self. Many poems are not actually titled, but even Biddy's acknowledgement of such is a reminder that not all thoughts need to be labeled to be understood.

This is poetry for those who hope to be seen and heard. It is poetry for the vulnerable and the emotionally unavailable all at the same time.

[Maegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very beautifully written. The language was smooth and painted beautiful pictures. The thing I love most about this was the topic of religion that was discussed. I felt as though the idea of questioning your own religion is such a powerful topic, and yet it isn't talked about very often. This was really inspirational to me, and I enjoyed seeing Reyna Biddy's relationship with god in this book. I also was greatly impacted by the idea of being a passionate lover, and falling so deeply in love with people. I think that it's important to know how you love, and what you need in a relationship, and this was discussed wonderfully.

[Olivia Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This psalm is truly magical. At first, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness while reading the first chapter. The words are so raw and real, and I resonated with the author on a deep level. The beauty in this book is that the further along you read, it becomes more and more evident that the author is finally seeing the love and strength that she holds within herself. It is a beautiful depiction of someone entering a spiritual journey, and blossoming into the person they were always meant to be. After reading, I feel a sense of peace and warmth, and am inspired to continue transforming myself into the best possible version of me.

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing, the cover, both were very pleasing to look at and read. I enjoyed this book of poetry a lot. I could really feel what the author was feeling and her descriptions were spot on. I read this in one sitting although I did take breaks. It’s still a pretty easy read. I would recommend to those who just had a break up or love someone recently. The author really draws in the reader with searching for what love can be or what love should be. This book is definitely for people with love on the brain but also has some bits about depression.

[lexi ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5-4

“i’m paying the price for not loving myself more than i should have”

“don’t shrink your passions for the convenience of others. you don’t deserve to treat yourself so harshly”

“your heart is your heart. don’t allow anyone to limit, discourage, embarrass, or belittle you for feeling how you do. express yourself.”

this piece of work really tries to make you see that you have what it takes to keep going, even if most days you feel you can’t. you will have days where maybe it’s possible & that’s the first step in realizing your strength & you will get there one day.

[Sydney Landrum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, first, I did actually enjoy some of the poems, but what upset me and frustrated me far outweighed my enjoyment of those poems.

In the opening letter, she says that “you’re going through heartbreak.. mine has probably ached more..” I immediately felt standoffish at this because how on earth would you know the depth of others’ heartbreaks.

Throughout the book of poems, there are numerous poems and letters where scripture from the Christian Bible is misinterpreted. This upsets me deeply as a follower of Jesus because someone who doesn’t know Jesus could read this.

[Asia Lockwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I have no words to explain how amazing this book is. Many poetry books lately focus on sadness, heartbreak and loss and the despair is relatable but it has a tendency to keep the reader in those dark feelings. This book focuses on the moving on, the growth, the self love. It is everything that I needed at this moment in time and I'm sure will be a go to anytime I feel like I'm losing myself and my peace. I am so thankful for Reyna Biddy and the way she shines light with her words.